This is a day I have been looking forward to since before the trip began. When we initially decided to do a road trip we immediately checked to see what kind of concerts we might find along the way. Of course many of the artists we checked on were touring in Great Britain, or Australia, or, even if they were in the US, they were in totally different states than those we were travelling through. But Rodney Crowell, someone I have wanted to see for a long time, is actually playing on our route at a time we will be there for.

We are just marking time today until the concert starts so we decide to shop for groceries for our stay in Palm Dessert. We make a HUGE list and head to the local grocery store to pick up everything from toilet paper to corn tortillas. It’s a big load but we manage to squeeze it into the van. The perishables we stash in our hotel fridge to keep cold until tomorrow when we drive the last stretch to Palm Desert.

The concert in the evening is in the Performing Arts Centre attached to the local high school in Wickenburg, Arizona. It is a fabulous facility and anywhere a person might sit is a good seat. But we have great seats, right in the centre just 3 rows from the stage. There is no warm up band, just Rodney Crowell and 2 others. They walk on stage with no fanfare and start to play. It is low key. The music floats out into the auditorium. It is so different from the Jason Isbell concert we saw in Nashville that was loud with a light show and lots of musicians. This feels like Rodney Crowell is in my own living room with a couple of friends. He plays old songs and songs from his new album. The concert lasts for 2 hours. For last song that he plays he gets the audience to sing along with the chorus. And then it is done. No big encore. Just the end of the concert with the sound of all of us singing together sending us out to the parking lot and back to our hotel for the night.